Join us at Gay's The Word to celebrate This Queer Arab Family - a powerful new book on identity, love, and chosen family, for an evening filled with celebration and community.

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We'll be hearing from the editor Elias Jahshan, alongside some of the featured contributors.

There will be conversation, readings, free refreshments and more. 

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In Arab culture, tradition often dictates an individual’s role in a family, with personal desires subsumed in favour of unity. So, what happens when Queer Arabs challenge and re-imagine these expectations?

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This Queer Arab Family celebrates the beauty of chosen kin and the everyday acts of care and survival that bind Queer Arabs to each other. Here, ten LGBTQ+ writers from across the Arab world and diaspora redefine what family looks like. From raising children with mum and mum, to becoming an OnlyFans star and building a non-binary belly dancing robot, these writers illuminate, through their own lived experiences, how queer joy and community can be found in the most unexpected places.

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Fierce, vibrant and unapologetic, This Queer Arab Family honours the spirit of those who, despite challenges, build community and family on their own terms.

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‘A stunner of a book … Building on the success of This Arab is Queer, Jahshan has gathered yet another extraordinary collection of essays with new depths and wonderful lyrical writing.’ 

- Danny Ramadan

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'A vital addition to the landscape of Arab queer and trans literature. May this beautiful anthology open the way for many more to come.' - Zeyn Joukhadar

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'Jahshan once again convenes a chorus of voices that ricochet across distance and difference with tenderness and power. A celebration, a protest, a love letter, and a reminder that we are never alone. A vital, heart-filled collection.' - Saleem Haddad

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Tickets £3, EVENT SOLD OUT​

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If you are on a low income and would like to attend this event but don't have the funds, email us at gaystheword@gmail.com putting the words 'This Queer Arab Family Event Access' no later than Sept 18th. Further accessibility info on the Eventbrite page. Venue is step-free ground floor, but bathroom is not. ​​​